The present invention relates to improvements in methods of hardening workpieces which contain or consist of a ferrous material, and more particularly to improvements in a method of surface hardening workpieces which consist of iron, steel or other ferrous materials.
It is already known to surface harden ferrous workpieces by forming on their surfaces boron nitride crystals in specially designed vacuum furnaces as a result of deposition of boron and nitrogen which are freed from their compounds. A drawback of such conventional methods of enhancing the resistance to wear by hardening the surfaces of ferrous workpieces is that they are complex and expensive.